Robert Genn, a successful artist, instructor, writer sends his “Twice-Weekly Letter” to artists the world over. In his September 2, 2011 letter he talks about paucity. This letter is particularly meaningful to me both as an artist and writer. His letter is reproduced here with his permission.
I was putting the title The Red Canoe on the back of a painting when my friend Joe Blodgett walked in and said, “Nice painting, too bad about the red canoe.”
After a couple of single malts I was looking at the painting through Joe’s eyes. I was pleasant enough when I urged him to go down to the smokehouse to get our smoked salmon, and while he was gone I took off the final varnish and hauled that canoe out of my picture.
Yesterday, Katharina Keoughan of Friendship, Maine wrote, “In your last letter you mentioned ‘the principle of paucity.’ What is paucity, and why is it good to have in one’s work?”
Thanks, Katharina. Paucity means “the presence of something in small or insufficient quantities or amounts; scarcity.” In our game, it’s one of the main principles. Apart from “His criticism shows a paucity of tact,” or “His resistance to Scotch shows a great deal of paucity,” most significant is the presence of paucity in our work.
“The secret of being a bore is to tell everything,” said Voltaire, and he wasn’t talking about his girlfriend, Emilie du Chatelet. A painting with paucity is one that tells you just enough to arouse your interest–perhaps leading to another excellent word–mystery. Unless the viewer is an engineer, give him too much info and he will yawn and go over to the wine and cheese. In some paintings it’s best to have viewers launch their own canoes.
Overwork, overstate and over-busy are three of the top boo-boos. We come by them honestly–from our innate human desire to give more. Sometimes it takes another person’s eyes to see there’s too much going on. Sometimes it’s painful to remove stuff. But art very often needs lines that disappear, it needs subjects that are suggested rather than told, it needs incomplete areas so viewers can complete for themselves. Our work does not have to be a seamless stream of cleverness.
The same is true in writing. Passages are almost always better when cut back. Writing is rewriting.
We eventually shipped my non-canoe painting. Through the magic of acrylic covering power, nobody knows what’s under there. Somewhere out in the Diaspora there’s a canoeless scene called “The Red Canoe.”
Thank you Robert for your words. Robert’s words are indicative to my driving points in the Victoriana series about clutter.
You can subscribe to Robert’s free Twice-Weekly Letter anytime. His pearls of wisdom are inspiring.
Have you ever looked at tree holes (sky holes) between branches? Are you inspired by what’s not there to write, to dream, to explore? As Robert requests of his readers, I request as well, read this letter and give us your input on the value of leaving things out.
Gail, I had something to say, but I thought I’d leave it out! I once heard it when related to negotiating…the one who says the least wins! In other words, letting someone fill in the blanks is definitely worthwile.
Eva, thanks for dropping by. You are absolutely correct. The last one to speak loses, or leave the blank spaces, not to say all the details. Not only for negotiating, but for music, writing and art. Who knows, maybe even for science and the lab bench? I will check with Tom to see if the theory is pervasive and covers science.
Gail – nice post. I’m a big fan of – more is less. It’s true in so many aspects of life, not just writing or art. I think so many of us, have so much – food, material goods, even love, that we’ve forgetten how to live simply (okay – for those who had no power all last week – don’t shoot me). Thank you for the thought provoking post.
My role as a designer has had “less is more” drummed into my head. And you know what, ya can’t go wrong with the philosophy. I had a missionary from Israel say to me when she visited the USA, “there are too many choices, i don’t know how to decide.”
Oh, I loved the line “the sky through the branches”…so evocative, Gail! Yes, less is definitely more in certain aspects of writing. Very nice post!
Hey Kristan, thank you
Gail, this is another thought-provoking post. The point about paucity is well taken. What’s writing, really, but filling up a hole? Putting words and meaning and story into a void that no one but you, the author, knew existed? Creating something out of nothing? The stories we write have to end somewhere on paper, but often it’s what is left unsaid at the conclusion that is the most compelling. That’s why we love romances so much — the Happily Ever After never happens in the narrative of the book. It happens, in our imaginations, in the empty space after The End.
Susannah, although I understand, I never thought about the romantic happy end. It’s in the intrigue of the journey where we pull the tread along with the reader through the hole to the happy end. It’s the same in all the arts. Allow the reader/viewer space.